Method for manufacturing transparent electroconductive film

Abstract

Disclosed is a manufacturing method for a transparent electroconductive film having excellent light-transmitting properties and low specific resistance. The present invention provides a method of manufacturing a transparent electroconductive film which comprises a film substrate and a crystallized indium tin oxide layer formed on the film substrate. The method comprises: a step of placing the film substrate in a sputtering apparatus using an indium tin oxide as a target material, and depositing indium tin oxide including amorphous parts on the film substrate by a magnetron sputtering process in which a horizontal magnetic field on the target material is set to 50 mT or more; and a step of, after the step of depositing indium tin oxide including amorphous parts, subjecting the indium tin oxide including amorphous parts to a heating treatment to thereby crystallize the indium tin oxide including amorphous parts to form the crystallized indium tin oxide layer.

1 . A method of manufacturing a transparent electroconductive film which comprises a film substrate and a crystallized indium tin oxide layer formed on the film substrate, the method comprising:
 a step of placing the film substrate in a sputtering apparatus using indium tin oxide as a target material, and depositing indium tin oxide including amorphous parts on the film substrate by a magnetron sputtering process in which a horizontal magnetic field on the target material is set to 50 mT or more; and   a step of, after the step of depositing the indium tin oxide including amorphous parts, subjecting the indium tin oxide including amorphous parts to a heating treatment to thereby crystallize the indium tin oxide including amorphous parts to form the crystallized indium tin oxide layer.   
     
     
         2 . The method as defined in  claim 1 , wherein
 the step of depositing indium tin oxide including amorphous parts is performed under a pressure less than atmospheric pressure, and the step to form the crystallized indium tin oxide layer is performed under atmospheric pressure.   
     
     
         3 . The method as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the horizontal magnetic field is in the range of 80 mT to 200 mT. 
     
     
         4 . The method as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the horizontal magnetic field is in the range of 100 mT to 200 mT. 
     
     
         5 . The method as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the step of depositing indium tin oxide including amorphous parts is performed at a temperature of 40° C. to 200° C. 
     
     
         6 . The method as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the step of depositing indium tin oxide including amorphous parts is performed at a temperature of 40° C. to 150° C. 
     
     
         7 . The method as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the step to form the crystallized indium tin oxide layer is performed at a temperature of 120° C. to 200° C. 
     
     
         8 . The method as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the film substrate is formed using one selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate, polycycloolefin and polycarbonate. 
     
     
         9 . The method as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the film substrate has an easy-adhesion layer provided on a surface thereof to be subjected to deposition of the indium tin oxide. 
     
     
         10 . The method as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the film substrate has an index matching layer provided on a surface thereof to be subjected to deposition of the indium tin oxide. 
     
     
         11 . The method as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the film substrate has a hard coat layer provided on a surface thereof to be subjected to deposition of the indium tin oxide. 
     
     
         12 . The method as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the crystallized indium tin oxide layer has a thickness of 20 nm to 50 nm. 
     
     
         13 . The method as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the film substrate has a thickness of 15 μm to 50 μm. 
     
     
         14 . The method as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the crystallized indium tin oxide has an average crystal grain size of 175 nm to 250 nm.